


How to Save a Life

by 200920750CS



Category: Death Note
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:53:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/200920750CS/pseuds/200920750CS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beyond Birthday escapes prison when three other inmates die of heart attacks. He goes on a search for L and gets caught up in the Kira investigation, a terrible game of whose heart will give out first. I suck at summaries, sorry if BB is a bit ooc.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Free

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. The summery sucks so I'll recap. Beyond breaks out of prison and has to deal with a bunch of shit. The ships are going to take a back seat to the plot so if you were expecting lawlight smut then this is not the place. Please enjoy.

The inmate was still, silent, and relaxed enough for someone to mistake them for dead. His shoulder length blond hair was brown under years of filth, and his exposed calfs and arms were adorned with harsh red scar tissue from his nearly successful suicide attempt, the burning still freshly imprinted in his memory, but nobody listened to the desperate cries of a madman. 

Less than twenty seconds ago three other inmates had fallen to the ground after dramatically clenching at their chests. Kira. Beyond had heard about the killer through guards and other prison gossip, so he knew exactly what was happening when the other inmates fell.

It had taken a fraction of a second for Beyond to fall as they had, a delay too short for even A to notice. In fact, there was only one man who would have seen the difference, but L was off trying to save lives again. How boring, and how convenient. Convenient that he wasn't there to witness the guard pulling him up, unaware of his faintly beating heart and not feeling his barely rising chest. 

He was taken, under a thin white cloth, to a vehicle. It was old, as the rumbling engine told him, and it was warm. Oh it was warm. In the moving hunk of metal Beyond tried to wrap his head around what was happening. He was free. He was free! He sat up and opened his eyes, instantly aware of the guard that moved to stop him, but the officer’s own gun was already pressed against his head as Beyond wracked his brain for what to do. He couldn't shoot, the driver would hear that, but he couldn't just wait for the guard to do something. He had to escape. There was no doubt in his mind that this man had to die, but he still had time left, and Beyond absolutely despised deaths that wouldn't medically enlighten him. Instead he knocked the man out with the heavy weapon that rested firmly in his thin, smooth hand. If only he had a knife, then he could do something. He was weak, so the guard probably wouldn't be out for long, but it gave Beyond time to figure something out. 

Without a moment's delay the sociopath crawled over to the three victims. Feeling his way through one of their sheets Beyond found what he was looking for. He threw the sheet off of the man and rooted through his slack jaw, jerking his arm suddenly. Teeth. 

He returned to the guard with three large teeth curled in his now bloody palm. Inspecting each of them, he chose the longest and was just about to pierce the man's skin before he remembered something. He grabbed the sheet that had covered him before and stuffed a good portion into the man’s mouth, using the rest to tie it in place. There. Over the sound of the engine the driver shouldn't hear a thing if the guard woke up. 

Returning his attention to the tooth in his fingers, Beyond drove the sharp pick into the sensitive and vital area just below the guard’s jaw. He watched with mild disgust as dark, thick red spilled out of the man’s throat, watched the number above his head begin to decline until it reached zero. Perhaps Beyond was weak physically, but he knew how to kill someone. Anyone else would have missed. 

Seating himself to the right of the dead man Beyond crossed his legs and admired the way that the small pool of blood rippled whenever the van hit a bump or crevice in the road. If he managed to get past the messiness of murder he could really appreciate the purity that came with death. Like his own. Burning away all that was unclean, purifying himself to ashes.

The stopping vehicle caught Beyond’s attention and his head snapped up to watch the doors in anticipation of the fresh air that he would soon be able to breathe in, free. Clutching the gun in both of his hands he took several deep breaths to calm himself, to stop his shaking hands. So close, he was so close. 

The doors opened to reveal a woman. Her long dark hair was tied back into a ponytail and her almond shaped eyes were focused on something to the right of the truck. They were in a forest, the trees casting shadows across her already angular face. He would never admit it, but he hesitated for a full second before shooting her directly in the ear, through her head. She looked so much like her, so much. And his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. 

Stepping out of the car took more effort than he would have liked, but he managed, and he glanced around him before whooping with glee. He was out. He was free. “Oh, Lawli, If you could see me now…” 

His voice came out cracked and rough, but it was his. Whether it was from years of disuse, or the fire that he had so eagerly cast around himself, his throat ached at the sudden noise. 

All around him were stimulants, and, despite his excessive training at Whammy’s, his head began to pound, a ringing filled his ears to drown out everything. He blinked but it was no good, his vision was blotchy and he now knew why it was called ‘seeing stars’, for little dots of light were mingling with the dark ones to create a vision not unlike that of a broken television. He stepped back to lean on the van and focused on his breathing. Fainting would do him no good at a time like this. He needed to be aware, he needed to become more than an inmate before someone saw him. Undoubtedly L would be notified of his death, and the detective would instantly suspect foul play. A corpse that resembled him would be easy to produce due to the fact that very few people had seen him after the burns had taken over his figure, but what to do about the dead guards? 

His vision was slowly returning to normal, but the ringing remained for a solid five minutes. Five minutes that he was sure he did not have. What was he thinking? He was by a van in the middle of a forest. Everyone in and out of the van, besides himself, was dead, and what can be found in vans? Gasoline. 

He scolded himself; he’d been hoping to use the van for himself, but now he could see that that would be impossible. It would be too easy to identify the car as a federal vehicle, so his best bet was to blow it up. He sighed with relief as the last of the dizziness subsided and stalked his way around the van. He paused, thinking. After a moment he turned back to the woman and stripped her of her uniform. It included a crude white polo shirt and navy slacks. A jacket, that would be useless due to the yellow lettering that adorned it, and a walkie talkie, and a pair of converse sneakers that were obviously not part of the uniform. she also had a pair of sunglasses tucked inside the jacket, and a wallet. ID, credit cards, $43.57, a few receipts, and a picture of a man with red hair, smiling at the camera. Her ID was fake, or at least her name was. “Kelly Shirer” was actually “Debra Holtz”, but that made things easier for Beyond. 

He examined the man in the same way, cataloging everything of importance and taking his money. Then he circled around to the front of the van and, sure enough, there was a purse. There was also a water bottle which he used to slowly, and barely, clean his hair. Minutes later Beyond whispered a silent ‘thank you’ to whoever made it social law that women had to have a purse. In it was a phone, keys, not for the van, a half eaten chocolate bar, two tampons, a condom, and, more importantly, makeup. Upon seeing the mascara, concealer, foundation, and hoard of other cosmetics Beyond quickly and efficiently set to work concealing his scars. It took longer than he had hoped, but he was eventually able to make himself look presentable. He went back to the dead woman and took the elastic out of her hair. Using the rear-view mirror Beyond pulled up his hair into a ponytail, not unlike the woman’s. The then stripped himself and put on the polo shirt and slacks. He pulled on the converse, but they pinched his feet. Unfortunately he didn’t have much say in what he wore, so he sucked it up and finally put on the sun glasses. He placed the woman’s wallet and phone in the purse and set it against a nearby tree. 

Turning back to the van, Beyond contemplated how to do what he needed to. He returned to the van and pulled a clean sheet off of one of the dead men, careful not to step in the blood that was pooling around the woman’s head. He used the sheet to soak up gasoline from the tank by covering one of the officer’s stick-things with it and sticking it down into the tank. He then used that method to wipe down the interior of the vehicle. he then bundled up the flammable sheet inside the van. He reached in to grab the man’s lighter, smoker had what was coming to him, and set the sheet alight. It caught instantly and spread beautifully throughout the van. He then bent down to set the woman’s hair on fire and fled the scene. Grabbing the purse he began to walk quickly back in the direction that the van had supposedly come from. 

He began to run when he saw a road. Doing his best to look distressed he waved down a car that was not too far off. He hadn’t expected to be picked up on his first try, but he was still disappointed when the car didn’t stop. It took three more tries before an elderly woman with her… daughter? stopped and asked where he wanted to go. He told her the nearest town, that he had been attacked and that he just needed to find the nearest hotel. He kept his voice quiet and soft, but it was slightly uncomfortable to be called ‘honey’ and my dear’ by someone whom he had just met. 

The drive was boring, but it gave Beyond time to fabricate a story. He was surprised when the lady didn’t ask any questions, but maybe she just knew that he didn’t want to speak to anyone. Beyond eventually decided to tell anyone who asked that he had been taken a long ways away by a boy whom he had met at a party, but that he had tried to hurt him so he ran into the woods and wandered for hours. That would explain how dirty he was.

The peace ended abruptly when the phone in the woman’s purse chimed. a few moments later the lady and her companion's beeped as well. Beyond glanced at the phone and saw that it was an emergency alert. 

It suggested, no, it told everyone to stay inside and to not go out due to the possibility of an insane prisoner who had escaped being in the area. The lady told Beyond, or ‘Kelly’, that it would be safer for him to stay with her and her daughter, and there was no way for him to refuse. The woman also said that he should go to the police about being attacked, but Beyond said that it wasn’t necessary and that the police had bigger things to deal with. 

The last thing he needed was the police’s attention. 

It took ten more minutes for them to reach the lady’s house. It took twenty to kill both her and her daughter. It took ten minutes for him to dispose of the bodies, and another ten to ride in a taxi to a small hotel. 

He did feel bad about the lady. She and her daughter had been very kind to him, even if they hadn’t known who he really was. But it had been necessary. They had seen his face, and they had seen where he had come from. 

He took a bath before falling asleep, naked, on the slightly rumpled sheet that snugly fit the hotel bed. The warm water had completely engulfed his body and it had felt glorious. After the first two, which had been primarily for cleaning himself, he was able to relax, something that he hadn’t been able to do since his first night away from Whammy’s. It took less time than usual for him to fall asleep. Whether it was the looseness of his muscles, or the softness of the bed, he was asleep almost instantly. 

Or perhaps it was the thought of ‘I may see Lawliet again, now wouldn’t that be nice…’


	2. A, L, and Misa Amane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory time!  
> B has a dream and then goes to Japan where he meets three very unexpected people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have always seen A as a girl, so that's how I write her.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING!!!  
> Self-harm and graphic description of suicide. 
> 
> Skipping the dream will not leave you behind and will be discussed briefly later on so if you have triggers then you can certainly do that.

Backup! Backup!” The blond turned to face his classmate who was running clumsily, sleepily, toward him, her short black hair bobbing around her chin as she moved. He sighed, when would her sleep schedule even out? 

“A, why are you so tired? I told you before, it's important to sleep on the nights before tests. You won't be able to retain information if you don't.” His voice was melodic, smooth, so unlike his mind which was full of holes and altogether out of tune. Currently he was fighting the urge to scream, but he could push that aside for A. He had to. So he waited for her to catch up to him before he led her to their next class, trying to ignore the bags that were hardly hidden by A’s thin-rimmed glasses. How many times would he chastise her for not sleeping, eating properly? How many perfect scores would it take for her to be satisfied?

…….

Beyond stalked cautiously down the wide hallway, dimly lit by the few lanterns that remained for the younger students. He heard crying, low crying, and it fascinated him. It bothered him. 

It was coming from an abandoned classroom, one that kids went to to fuck or to drink. Only bad things happened in that room, but he had never heard crying before. A morbid thought crossed his mind but he pushed it aside; the students at Whammy’s wouldn't. Couldn't.

It must have been past midnight, for even the students were asleep. All Beyond could hear was his footsteps and the soft, yet wonderfully feral, sounds of a broken person. Or perhaps they weren't so wonderful...

As he approached the room he felt his blood run cold. He knew the soft whimpers that accompanied those fearsome sobs from restless nights that he spent calming down their host. 

A. A was crying. 

He ran the last three steps and rammed his side into the door. The sight that met his eyes was enough to tempt even his gag reflex. There she was on the old linoleum tiles, her deep red life gushing freely from slits in her ankles, new ones on her wrists. Why hadn’t he thought to check her ankles? 

He dropped down next to her as he called for help, but he knew that it was too late. Her shirt was soaked and her dark, beautiful eyes were clouded with pain and tears. It was disgusting. Disgusting how the blood left traces everywhere, how her body shook in his arms and her tears left stains on his shirt. Disgusting that he was oddly, depravedly, enjoying the feeling of her last glimpses of life. She was dying, she was dead. 

And someone had the audacity to try to pull him off of her. 

 

DREAM OVER///////.

 

He slept for five hours and twenty four minutes. The bed creaked as he rocked, as he kicked, lashing out at an invisible threat. His dreams, unlike his body, were not soothed by the cool, smooth sheets of the hotel bed, his eyes opening with a start. 

He met L that day. He had laid there for hours, waiting for someone to find them, when at last Roger had heard his wailing. Less than an hour later a thin figure, hunched over like an old man and with deep, dark circles under his eyes had entered the now brightly lit room. Beyond had known instantly who the man was, and a deep hatred for the detective had burst into a deep, patient flame. It had been too much, the stress, the title. She had done this because of him, because of L. But they were both to blame, equally. L for the hell, and Beyond for putting her through it. Why had he pushed her so hard? And now she was gone.

His thoughts flicked to the day before it happened. The fight that had plagued his mind for nearly a decade. She wasn’t sleeping, she wasn’t eating, she wasn’t trying, and he had been tired of it. She needed to take better care of herself if she was to become L, he’d said, and she had stormed out of the room. It was the first time that they’d fought. Ever. And that night she’d killed herself. 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. 

But L. How he’d hated L. He was there to pull Beyond off of A. There to see what had become of her. He had been there, but his face never changed. Like he felt nothing. She was dead, his successor, and his expression remained bland, bored. It was infuriating. And Beyond had said so. 

He had screamed at L, not particularly minding the dull ache in the back of his head, not hearing Roger telling him to calm down, not losing eye contact with L when he was pulled out of the room except to steal one last glance at his best friend, his classmate, his colleague. 

Classes the next day had not been canceled, which was a relief for him, even if it meant facing people. The work kept him on his toes and his mind off of A, but whenever he'd go and make a snarky comment about a teacher’s inadequacy, or turn to ask what plan he could come up with to not have to do the homework, he would be reminded that A was not there and never would be again. 

If he had been able to see her lifespan then… But he had only developed that ability more than a year after he left Wammy's house. He still should have known, he shouldn't have needed his eyes...

He had hated L since then. And now he could pursue him once more. 

He sat up and waited for the slight bout of dizziness that came with the sudden movement. He stood up and made his way to the bathroom to shower, mentally made a list as the scalding water trailed down his back. He needed clothes, he needed information, he needed food. Turning off the water he covered his lower half with a thick warm towel and sat on the bed to watch the news. It was eight oh five so he figured that there’d be something on, and the screen told him that it was a Tuesday. 

The television told him about the possible escape of the inmate from the maximum security facility thirteen miles away. It also showed footage of the van, burnt and nearly melted into nothing more than a lump of metal. He smiled to himself. His smile widened when the broadcast ended and turned into a progress report on Kira. Apparently the investigation was continuing in Japan; the broadcast was Japanese. 

L would be there. 

Beyond pulled on the old uniform and put on a minimal amount of makeup before leaving to buy his own clothes. As he suspected there were, despite the warnings, several people out and about and as long as he kept his head down he knew that he wouldn’t be noticed. 

He paid for the clothes with the woman’s money, not risking using a credit card, and changed into the black turtleneck and light jeans that he had managed to purchase in the store’s bathroom. The woman at the register gave him a strange look but he just smiled reassuringly before exiting the store and walking away like nothing was unusual He was still going commando and the shoes still pinched his toes, but at least he looked like a normal person and not a criminal dressed in a correctional officer’s clothes. 

At the hotel he reapplied his makeup and attempted to comb out his hair. He had always prided personal hygiene, so throughout his confinement he had regularly combed through it with his hands, but it could have been better. It was messy and uneven, but it looked fine after he pulled it up into a bun that rested on his neck. He had to readjust it so that it wasn’t touching him. He was, after all, relying on his disguise and if the makeup smudged then it would be all over for him. The burns on his lower jaw had prevented any hair to grow there which had been helpful when he was pretending to be the woman, but now it was just another feature of himself that he despised. He left the remaining cash on the bed after he remade it and hoped that it would be enough to keep the hotel manager happy. The room had not been cheap, but the male officer must have been either rich or dumb with money because he had had $248.36 just in his wallet. 

He took the guard’s debit cards to an ATM and it took thirty seconds to guess the code before he withdrew all of it, aside from about $600, and called a taxi to bring him to the airport. It took him two more hours to get on a plane heading to Japan -the security really was lax wasn’t it?- and he fell asleep on the plane. 

…….

Japan was just as he expected. Loud, bright, polluted. He could see from his surroundings that Kira was definitely more prominent here than anywhere else by the numerous signs advertising rewards for his head. It reminded him of a western. 

He looked around at the people surrounding him and began to become overwhelmed very quickly. His heart beat faster and all he could see were the hundreds of names. 

Oh help.

He had left the woman’s phone in the hotel room so he wandered until he found an electronics store before he realized that all he had were american dollars. He sighed and went looking for a bank, breathing deeply to try and calm himself down. 

It took thirty minutes longer than he would have liked to convert the money from dollars to Japanese yen, but at least now he could buy that phone. 

With the device in his pocket, new-ish clothes on his back, and a newfound energy due to the tea that he currently had clutched in his right hand, Beyond was ready to find L. 

He decided to start with the police. If Kira was in Japan, and by this point Beyond was sure he was, then there would be a special task force that was devoted to finding him. The criminal glanced down at the map that he had swiped from a tourist stand. NPA headquarters, where are you? 

“Hmm…” He sighed, when he didn’t immediately see indication of it’s whereabouts. He was just about to find another map when a small pressure presented itself on the small of his back, causing him to jump. 

“Excuse me, sir. Are you lost?” The voice belonged to a petite woman. Two sections of her long blond hair were tied into ponytails that rested on either side of her head, and she was wearing a lolita-style dress and very high heeled boots. Beyond looked for her name, Misa Amane. His brows furrowed for a split second. There were no numbers above her head. He brushed it aside, it didn’t really make a difference to him. 

“Yes, actually.” He answered in perfect Japanese. “I’m looking for the task force headquarters.” He noticed how she briefly stiffened when he mentioned the location, but then smiled and replied with an excruciatingly high pitched “Okay!” He watched mesmerized as she looked at his map and quickly pointed out what he had earlier assumed to be just another police station. Perhaps she could be useful after all. 

She showed him the bus that he could take to get to the building before bouncing up and down with some unexplained realization and running off to leave him to his own devices. He didn’t mind; her voice had been too perky for his liking. He would never understand why some women, and even some men, would act like that. It wasn’t cute, or even funny, but some people just refused to keep quiet. 

He didn't wait even a full minute before walking over to and boarding a bus. It was crowded, so he reluctantly stood when an elderly lady got on two stops after him. She reminded him of the old woman who had driven him from the forest and a tight curl of regret twisted his stomach into an uncomfortable knot. 

It took twelve more minutes for him to reach the indicated bus stop, and when he arrived he almost missed it because of the crowded interior of the transportation. The underground smell of people and cigarettes chased him out of the damp station and onto a street that was calm in comparison. Just a block ahead of him was a large glass building that could only have been his destination. He was about to approach the head quarters when a woman and young man exited. 

They were taking, her long dark hair tucked nearly completely into her leather jacket, and her hands tucked into the warmth of her pockets. Naomi Misora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again please leave feedback and I hope that you enjoy the direction that this is taking.


	3. Light Yagami is a Liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beyond follows Naomi and Light and thinks quite a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late I thought that I would post every Friday but I had to travel and I didn't have wifi yesterday so I'm posting today. Hope you all enjoy!

The boy was named Light Yagami, and he, like Miss Amane, did not have a lifespan displayed above his auburn hair. Two people in one day. It could have been Beyond, but then it would have happened in L.A. as well. 

Why was Naomi in Japan, and who was this ‘Light’? He appeared to be trying to calm her down, but Beyond couldn’t see the reason as her back was turned to him. She looked well, her legs looked muscular under her tight pants, and she stood with an authoritative air, even if the boy’s reaction to her was any indication that she was acting strange. Naomi never got confused, never got angry, or sad. So something big must have happened. 

Beyond turned to the right as the pair walked down the street toward him and contemplated what to do. He could go in, or he could follow Naomi. At present, it was important that he not get noticed by her, so he pulled out his phone and became busy opening and closing then reopening the messenger system. They were two feet away now. He checked the time; 12:57 pm. Hmm, he was hungry.

“Well you see, they were actually killed by Kira-” Her voice was as he remembered it. Soft and almost high pitched, and Beyond had to restrain himself from visibly stiffening. They were talking about Kira. It hadn’t before occurred to him to use Kira to kill L, but if he could that would be wonderful, sweeter. He would have preferred to kill L on his own, but he knew that if he and Naomi were working together then Beyond didn’t stand a chance, and if Naomi’s comfortable stature around the man was anything to go by Light Yagami was also in on the investigation. The boy’s air was one of someone who knew what was going on, like they were very aware. It might have been the way he addressed Naomi, or the way that he took immediate notice of Beyond. The boy was going to be a problem. 

The pair passed him and continued walking alongside the road, heading towards the park. Beyond held the phone up to his ear and walked behind them about ten paces. “Hello, yes this is Hibiki.” he paused and imagined the clerk who had helped him purchase his phone asking him if he would be interested in any other product. When his silent dialogue had concluded he responded. “No thank you. I am not interested as long as the phone works just fine.” 

Naomi had begun crossing the street with the boy, turning left, but Beyond continued straight as his one-sided conversation came to a close with a quick “no problem”. He reached the next crosswalk and turned left to follow her on the opposite side of the street. He put his phone into his pocket again and sipped at his nearly empty paper cup. He put on his sunglasses and stopped to look at the scenery, annoyed that he couldn’t actually appreciate it yet. He was treading a thin line, he knew, but a part of him wanted to get caught. If he was he would undoubtedly be brought to L and then locked up again. But there was so much, so many things around him and it was wonderful and terrible compared to the safe, clean-ish, and simple interior of his cell. His ex-cell. 

He began walking after them again, nearly a full block behind them now. He watched with fascination as the boy pulled out a piece of paper and took down what she was saying. Notes? Perhaps they weren’t working together if Naomi was working with L. L never let anyone take notes, or was she working with the detective at all? If she was working with L, but the boy wasn’t, then she would be the one receiving the information, but he was taking notes so… 

Neither one of them was working with the detective. Oh, Naomi, what are you doing? Can you trust him? Beyond felt his steps falter for a split second and cursed under his breath. Now he had to follow them. If Naomi knew this person well then she wouldn't have to explain that so-and-so had been killed by Kira, so she was giving away information that she had, he figured, been going to tell the police to someone who she didn’t know well. 

Naomi, what are you doing? 

The boy checked his watch for the fifth time in a minute, but this time his back stiffened and he slowed for a split second. Beyond watched carefully out of the corner of his eye as Light Yagami’s whole demeanor changed from interested high school student to terrified high school student to desperate high school student in one second. Huh. Who are you Light Yagami? 

Beyond followed them through a park and heard Naomi mention returning to see if anyone was a the task force headquarters. That caught his attention. No one was at headquarters. No one. That meant that there couldn’t be many officers working on the case, or someone would be. 

Beyond contemplated why they would all be gone from a bench while watching Naomi turn back and leave the boy following her from a few feet away. As soon as he was out of sight Beyond pulled his hair out of it’s bun and let it hang over his shirt. He tucked the sunglasses into his pocket and, after looking around to make sure no one saw, he put on a warm, navy coat that someone had left lying on the bench. There was nothing in the pockets, but that was fine as long as he looked a bit different. Then he hurriedly walked to refind the FBI agent and her new friend. 

When he saw them again he saw that they had stopped. She looked annoyed, angry even, and he looked tense. Beyond sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening as he passed them, but it wasn’t necessary; she was too preoccupied to notice him. It took less acting than he thought if would have taken to trip on his shoelace, and as he crouched down to retie it he began to pay attention to what Light Yagami was saying.

“It’s actually impossible for you to talk to anyone at headquarters.” His voice was low and Beyond instantly recognized it as the voice used by someone very skilled at manipulation. 

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hasn’t it struck you that it’s rather strange that nobody’s been there?” Yes, thought Beyond who was halfway done with tieing his shoes. Naomi seemed to agree as she responded “It does seem a little strange…”

“The investigation into Kira is currently operating on a system whereby nobody is told who is leading it. If the names of the investigators were to be made public, they may end up suffering the same tragic fate as you fiance.” Her fiance? Was that he person who had been killed by Kira? 

“I can understand that” replied Naomi with a sigh. Beyond stood up and sat on the low wall next to him. He pulled out his phone and began to fake text as the boy continued. 

“That’s why, at headquarters, they told you that nobody was in. Basically it’s going to be impossible for you to speak to anybody there…”

“How do you know so much?” asked Naomi, suspicion thick in her voice, and Beyond agreed. He must have been bluffing. 

“I guess I’m just going to have to tell you…” he paused, Beyond ‘texted’ a friend. 

“...I’m actually a member of the investigation.” Beyond inwardly sighed. Now he knew that he was bluffing. The investigation must be in contact with L, and Beyond had already come to the conclusion that Light Yagami was not working with L. It was, however, possible that he was and just didn’t know about L’s rule about taking notes, or discussing cases with anyone outside of the investigation. Actually, thought Beyond, it’s not that hard to believe. He’s very good at manipulating apparently so it’s possible that L would use him, still…

“You’re a member of the investigation?”

“Yes. Right now, L’s leading the investigation-” 

“Yes, that’s what I thought.”

“He’s struggling with staff resources on the investigation, people have been scared and are resigning. I may only be a high school student, but in the past I’ve helped the police with two incidents that have resulted in convictions.” 

“And that’s why you’re on the team?” Beyond sent another text at this. Light Yagami was a high school student, a clever one at that. And he seemed to have connections within the police. Well, wasn’t this getting interesting. He looked around as if her were looking for someone before pretending to type again. 

“I’m able to go in and out of headquarters as I like, and can investigate whatever cases I want. The task force is made up of people who’ve proved their ability, people who can be trusted. It’s a team that’s made up of specially selected individuals.” 

Beyond waited for a reply, and had begun thinking that Naomi had decided not to until she said, “I see, but even if that’s the case, I’ll still try going to headquarters, just in case. Thank you” At that Beyond mentally applauded her. Well, you’re not totally stupid now after all, alright then. 

“Wait!” said the boy rather urgently, “Didn’t I just tell you that you won’t be able to speak with anyone?” They passed Beyond as Light followed Naomi. But she didn’t stop. 

“If it’s possible, I’d like to speak directly to L.” They stopped walking, and Beyond stood up. He would tell her who he was, to get her, and himself to L. She would be his ticket, and he her’s. 

“But that impossible. Directly to L?” His desperation was bleeding through his facade causing his usually low voice to raise just enough to be unnerving. Almost like a singer slightly off tune, Light Yagami was beginning to flail.

“That’s what she said, right? Directly to L.” Beyond’s voice was still rough, but it came out easier now after the conversation that he had over the phone. He looked up at Light Yagami who had turned to face him. Naomi didn’t seem to understand yet, but in a moment she would. 

“Who are you, and why have you been following me?” Light Yagami’s eyes were the color of caramel, his face beautifully sculpted to perfection, but underneath all of that was a liar if Beyond had ever seen one. There was an almost unnatural fierceness that lurked behind those deep brown pools, and Beyond was uncomfortably reminded of L. 

“I wasn’t following you, Light Yagami. I was attempting to reconnect with an old friend, Miss. Satsuki Misora here.” He turned to Naomi, “Hello, Satsuki, it’s been far too long. Walk with me.” He approached her right as it began to snow, his expression suddenly stony. Her eyes widened with recognition, and then immediately narrowed.

¨How are you out BB?” She didn't move as he approached her, but she did stiffen considerably and Beyond could see fear settling behind her eyes. He loved eyes; one could always tell so much about a person by their eyes. 

He stopped when he could smell her raspberry body wash off of her skin and whispered so that the other man couldn’t hear, “Let me help you reach L. He can’t say no to me. And do calm down it’s not like I’m back from the dead or anything. I’m not going to hurt you.” Naomi remained stiff, but she nodded. Beyond could see the understanding in her eyes. She didn’t trust Light, and what Beyond had said was not wrong. L would speak to him. Right as she opened her mouth a man under an umbrella passed them, heading for the headquarters. Shuichi Aizawa, you will live a long life, thought Beyond as Light Yagami spoke before a sound escaped Naomi. 

“Who are you? And how do you know… Satsuki?” Naomi looked down in embarrassment and Beyond silently cheered. He’d been right; she’d used an alias. 

“My name is Beyond. Beyond Byrns, pleasure to meet you.” He put out his left hand to shake and smirked as Light awkwardly accepted the backwards handshake. Beyond inwardly chuckled at Naomiś reaction to his choice of a last name, her eyes wide and breaths quick. Perhaps he had bad dreams about that day occasionally, but according to her reaction so had Naomi. 

He turned back to her and motioned with his head towards headquarters and the three of them strolled together into the building and up to the reception desk. 

Aisawa was there, checking in. 

“Hello. Is there any way that I could have a teensy tiny convo with the Kira Kira task force?” Beyond asked, bringing his voice up an octave and fluttering his eyelashes playfully at the receptionist who looked at him with mild disgust, but it was Aizawa who answered.

“I’m actually on the task force, sorry for our absence. What is it? Do you have information?”

He sounded exhausted, his shoulders drooped like they were those of a corpse, and there were signature bags under his eyes. He had definitely been with L then.

Naomi opened her mouth to answer but Beyond got there first. 

“We were actually hoping to contact L directly, we want to join the taskforce.” He gestured to the three of them, including Light just so that he could observe how he was going to get out of this one. 

“Oh hello, Light. How have you been?” Shit. Well, that didn’t work. 

“Great actually.” 

“That's good… but I’m afraid that I have no way to contact L-”

“Really? You have absolutely no way to contact him?” Naomiś voice was firm and authoritative, but she looked terrified. Beyond quietly thanked god that, while she was shitty at acting, she was just as desperate to see L as him. If they had one thing in common it was their fascination for L, even if it was for different reasons. 

Aizawa looked uncomfortable, but he gestured for them to follow him and gave the receptionists an ‘okay’ signal when they sent him a curious look.

They were brought into a fairly large room with a single laptop on one of the tables. Beyond thought that it would be far too easy to steal, but didn’t mention it. 

“Okay, what do you want me to tell him?”

“Well, I really-”

“Tell him ‘Happy Belated Birthday, did you enjoy the fireworks?’” said Beyond, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. Aizawa looked to Naomi for confirmation and she nodded. Beyond was surprised, he hadn’t expected that to work. She must really be desperate…

Aizawa turned around and pushed his belt buckle twice. He obviously didn’t want them to see what he was doing, but his attempts to hide it were fruitless and Beyond had to suppress a chuckle. He turned back around and a few moments later his phone rang. Beyond’s heart began to pound harshly in his chest. He looked at Naomi who seemed to be having the same reaction, but one glance at Light and he began to feel uncomfortable. The boy was smiling devilishly back at him, a purely evil glint in his eyes until it was replaced with confusion. The second time today, could it really be…?

“Yes hello, Watari. There are three people here, they say they have a message for L……….. um they seem pretty desperate..…...The message?...... oh right, Happy Belated Birthday, did you enjoy the fireworks… Watari?” There was a long pause. Beyond didn't look away from Aisawa, but Naomi was shifting nearly every second. The inspector started at a sudden voice on the line.

“Oh, L!........Their names, um one moment.” He clutched the phone to his chest and looked at them expectantly. 

“Satsuki Misora, Beyond Bryns, and Light Yagami.” said Beyond impatiently. Aizawa nodded and relayed the information to L. A moment passed and he held the phone away from him, a flicker of annoyance crossing his previously sculpted face. L had hung up.

The computer behind them beeped and, to Beyondś dismay, Light was the first to reach it. He opened the laptop to reveal a large black ‘L’ scrawled across the screen in L’s signature Cloister Black font. Beyond looked at Naomi and smiled, she hesitated before returning the gesture with a tight lipped grimace, and a voice began to crackle from the computer’s speaker. Beyond shuddered visibly, while Naomi pushed forward. She faltered when a filtered voice reached the fourś ears.

“Beyond.”

“L.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave feedback if you have any and I hope Naomi wasn't too ooc in her reactions to Beyond appearing...
> 
> And the next chapter might be from L's POV so that'll be interesting.


	4. L and Beyond Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> L thinks things over and meets with Beyond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is in L's POV, so I don't know how great it's going to be. I tried not to make them too similar, but I figured that they thought things out in kind of the same way. Please enjoy!
> 
> I forgot a disclaimer on the last three chapters, but for the record, I don't own anything.

“L.” 

The voice that reached his ears was rough, strained, but still managed to keep the flirtatious edge that L had come to expect. The crouching man held the microphone in a slightly shaking hand as he contemplated how to respond. He was seething. How had BB found him? L knew that he had escaped, had been notified by L.A. Police when Beyond had gone missing. But how on earth had he gotten to Japan in less than three days? L did the math and decided that, however surprising it was, such a feat was not impossible. 

He pressed the button that would allow him to communicate to the three people, as well as Aisawa who had been stupid enough to allow someone like Beyond into the NPA headquarters. At least he was with Misora, a name both he and the criminal knew well, so L directed his conversation at her.

“Misora, why is Beyond there?” His voice shook ever so slightly and he licked his lips, trying to catch the last possible remains of sugar that remained there from the tea that he had been drinking earlier. Already a bitter taste was erupting from memories that he wouldn't allow himself to remember, not yet. Instead he peered at the three other men in the room with him and caught the Chief's eye. Light Yagami, what is your business with Beyond Birthday and Naomi Misora? If L recalled correctly, Light Yagami had previously been investigated by an F.B.I. Agent by the name of Raye Penber, and in the time that L had allotted for the suspects. L let out a heavy breath, drawing the action out over a span of several second in an attempt to calm himself. 

“I ran into him on my way here, but L, I have an idea about the Kira case that Light has helped me to understand. He has made it clear that he is working on the Kira case.” L listened intently for any sign that she was not well, but all he heard was a justified urgency to speak to him. He had no problem with this, not exactly, but L wasn't eager to see anyone unexpectedly like this, especially if she had been around Beyond. The way that she took very little notice of the killer said very much for their arrangement. L was sure that they were counting on his need to speak with both of them to reach him. L brought his thumb up to his mouth and ran his tooth in between his finger and nail. The question then became, should he let them?

“Miss Misora, please let me speak to Aizawa for a moment.” He waited until the movement through the speaker stopped and spoke before the detective could. “Mr. Aizawa, let me make it clear that you are to not let anything of this nature to happen again.” he paused, running through his options. He knew that he couldn’t turn Naomi, or Beyond, away, but he wasn’t eager to meet someone like Light yet. Light Yagami. You could be Kira, there’s about a three percent chance, five now that Naomi has taken sudden interest, but I am not ignorant to your activity within the police force and you may be able to help me. If you are Kira, you will not hesitate to kill me, but very few people are aware that I am L. If I were to first appear as an intermediary… no, that wouldn’t work, obviously. You’re too smart to believe that, but what if you are Kira? L turned to the microphone and pressed the button. 

“Putting your lapse in judgement aside, I will send the Chief to collect the three of them. I am curious as to their real intentions and believe that each one of them could be very useful concerning the case.” He turned to Mogi and gestured towards the door, Soichiro, who had already stood up, gave L a puzzled look. The detective lifted his finger and said, “You are no longer the Chief, remember, Yagami? If your son is as smart as the record indicates then he should catch on. These people do not know you, and one of them is very dangerous.” Soichiro nodded and Mogi left the room, picking up his phone on the way out. L turned back to the mic. 

“Beyond, Misora, Yagami, the three of you will each meet with me privately so that I may determine that none of you are, in fact, Kira.” He paused and could imagine what was going through their heads. Let Yagami think he wasn’t the only suspect. For Beyond it was impossible, and the idea of Naomi being Kira was ridiculous. He had killed her fiance after all…

“Upon your arrival here you will be under constant surveillance. If I, or anyone, see anything that may mark you as Kira then you will be excluded from the investigation. Aisawa, when the Chief arrives stay where you are, I will address you privately afterwards.” He let his finger lift off of the button and brought his thumb to his mouth. Beyond Birthday, what am I going to do with you? There was a possibility that Beyond was Kira, due to the supernatural condition of his eyes, but wouldn't’ he have killed L by then? The detective bit down and winced at the sudden tightness that surrounded his flesh. 

“Matsuda, Yagami, Ukita, when they arrive many things may happen, so Watari will be present. I, however, will not be. Light Yagami and Miss Misora will most likely not make any attempt to harm you, but do not engage in extended conversation with Beyond Birthday… yes, Matsuda, that is his real name. Do not use it obviously.” He stood and took the mic with him, thanking the existence of wireless. “I will see them in order Beyond, Misora, Yagami. This is nonnegotiable. Give me five minutes between the time that they arrive to when you send Beyond in. After that they may come when I have finished the one before, is that clear?” He turned to look each of the men in the eye. They nodded, and he disappeared into the bedroom. He had about thirty minutes before Beyond would follow him inside.

L sat and thought for the majority of those thirty minutes, until he heard the sound of the suite door opening. He tiptoed over to the bedroom door and pressed his ear against it. There was the unmistakable voices of Mogi and then of Misora, then the young voice of a Japanese teenager. He could hear Soichiro explaining the procedure to the trio, and finally silence. 

The detective backed away from the door and breathed deeply, deeper than he should have had to. He thought that he was going to be sick, but settled for nibbling on his lip. Years it had been, years since he had last seen, or heard of, Beyond birthday. L knew what he had done, that the man was now covered in burn scars, but L had never seen them, never taken the time to look at a picture. He wished he had. 

Three minutes. 

Why was he this nervous? He had encountered Beyond before, had been threatened, attacked by him, but there was a different dynamic to this meeting. Never before had L considered working with Beyond. Some might have called him crazy for not locking him up right away, but a part of L wanted to see him, wanted to see if he had changed at all…

There was someone approaching the door. L remained in his squatted position at the end of the bed, suddenly glad that he had turned on the lights. Still, when the door opened he stiffened, sucking in a low breath at the sight of his former successor. 

Beyond didn’t look crazy, well, very crazy. his hair fell flat around his face and was longer than L remembered it being. The detective could see, however, the slight tonal differences in the makeup that Beyond had used to cover a significant portion of his face, his burns. L stared at him. 

Closing the door Beyond, addressed the crouching detective, never taking his dark eyes off of him. “Hello,” the door clicked shut, “Lawliet.”

“Hello, Beyond. Make yourself comfortable…” L’s eyes followed the man as he walked, almost predatorily, towards him, until his chest was inches from L’s chin. He stayed there until he suddenly flopped down on the bed next to him, a smirk dancing playfully on his thin-stretched lips. 

“Oh, L. A hotel room?” A chuckle erupted from the man’s chest as he rolled his eyes, his smile suddenly dropping into a scowl. “What is it L, you know I can’t be Kira.” 

“Obviously.”

“But you think Yagami is?” 

L cast Beyond a sideways glance while his mind raced. Why was Beyond suspicious of Light?

“I think anyone could be Kira, why? do I have a reason to suspect him?” Beyond didn’t respond. L tried again. “B…” 

“Hmm, what? Oh sorry, you know me, can’t focus on anything.” L narrowed his eyes. The criminal was obviously not going to be helpful. Almost as if he had read L’s mind, Beyond said, “He just claimed to already be investigating Kira and had a vast understanding of how you were operating, so I was surprised when you wanted to see him as well.” 

L thought about this. Was Light personally investigating Kira, or had he claimed to be working with him? Well, Light, it was now either two percent or nine percent…

“So, Lawlipop, is that all? Don’t you wanna know how I got out?” L’s eyes flicked over to the laying figure to his right. The smirk had reappeared across his face and his left hand reached over to run two fingers down L’s back. The detective shivered and was rewarded with a slight cackle before the man’s mouth was inches from his ear. “don’tcha wanna know, L?” 

“I already do.” Beyond laughed again, but this time it was more melancholy than giddy, genuine then. L didn’t know, obviously, but he did have a few serious theories. 

Beyond circled around the bed so that he was standing directly in front of L, raw emotion written across his face, and yet L found himself unsure of how the man was feeling. He looked sad, no, he looked like he was regretting something. 

“You killed those guards.” Beyond looked up at him, making eye contact before he nodded confirmation. 

“And two others, an old woman and her daughter. They were the ones to drive me into the town where I stayed.” Le remained silent. Beyond wasn’t finished and L had nothing to say to that anyway. He hadn’t expected that. 

“I killed more people in that one day than I had ever before, even if their deaths were slightly more humane.” L’s eyes settled on the man’s face, but the wheels in his head never slowed. Why was Beyond telling him this? If anything L had more reason to lock him up now than he had had earlier. 

“Look.” L blinked at the curtness of the other’s voice. “I hate you, I really do, but I want to live, and the only way that I’m going to do that is if you catch Kira.” He paused, as if considering what to say, but L knew that these were prepared words. “After this, I won’t struggle going back. I know that my word is meaningless, but I won’t resist arrest afterwards, just let me help you catch Kira. I’m so bored, L, and I have no way to kill you without getting myself killed as well-”

“You know my name.” L’s voice was flat, critical. Beyond sighed. L almost felt bad for him. 

Almost. 

“B, I can not trust you, and I can not spend energy looking after you, let alone hiding you from America. The police must know that you followed me. they’re not that dense.” The criminal’s eyes lowered before he sighed and his entire demeanor changed. 

“Oh well. I guess I’ll just go then.” He turned toward the door and L’s eyes watched as he reached for the doorknob. 

“Wait.” Beyond froze. 

“Let me speak to Naomi. If she is willing to watch you then you may assist me on this case.” Beyond turned around, a glimmer of something in his eyes. “I can not guarantee her cooperation, but I know that’s she’ll be able to keep you under wraps easily if the current Task Force help along the way. You will be given conditions of course.” Beyond nodded, a smile spreading like wildfire across his face. L didn’t blink. This could work, he thought, as long as you don’t screw me over, that is, which I know you will if you can. 

Beyond closed the door behind him. 

I’ll just have to ensure that you can’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it. Please, please leave me feedback. I do want to progress in my writing!  
> The next chapter is in Beyond's POV par usual and perhaps a little of L's POV again.  
> Thank you for reading!


	5. Waiting and Conditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beyond waits, and waits, and L proposes the conditions of Beyond's part in the investigation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is a bit boring to read, but it was fun to write. Only a tiny bit of L, but lots of contemplation.

Beyond closed the door behind him, his heart thumping uncharacteristically hard in his chest. He might get on the case. 

He might get on the case.

He had to keep his face from breaking into a manic grin. Across the room he could see the members of the Task Force, along with Naomi and Light Yagami, looking to see his reaction, and the last thing he needed was for them to suspect foul play. Because he was playing foul. 

Oh yes. 

“Satsuki, you can go in now.” His voice was steadily returning to normal and it had now begun to sound like the deep tones that he was used to omitting. The sound soothed him.

At his permission Naomi stood, fast and sudden, and her unexpected movement caused the older Yagami and Mogi to stiffen. Light Yagami eyed the woman as she crossed the room, and as she paused to search Beyond’s eyes. But Beyond, unlike her, had been raised at Whammy’s house, and he knew that she couldn't make anything out of his clouded expression.

Sighing in defeat and to soothe her inevitable nerves, Naomi turned towards the bedroom and tentatively opened the heavy wooden door. Beyond attempted to peer in, but it was open just enough for her to slip in before she was swallowed by the room and the door was closed again. 

After a moment of hesitation, the criminal began to wander around the room, winking once at Watari, until he finally reached the seat that he had occupied earlier. Shoving his hands into his coat pockets he sat down in the armchair with a lazy huff. He looked over the five other men in the room and his eyes lingered on inspector Yagami. He cleared his throat before chuckling to himself. There were so many ways to make this fun. But, he reminded himself, nothing too out of the ordinary, or he would be “excluded from the case”. He smirked at L’s wording. It was such a formal way of saying “don't fuck up, or you can't know shit”. 

He looked up at Yagami again, the inspector avoided eye contact, but the way his thumbs were dancing he was obviously aware that Beyond was watching him. The criminal cleared his throat again. When that reaped no reaction of any amusement he addressed the lot.

“So, how long have you guys known L?” 

He waited, but there was no response from any of them except from Light Yagami, but he was hardly who Beyond was watching. Besides, all it had been was giving his head a slight tilt to the left, almost like he was listening to something, but beyond was on his right…

Beyond licked his lips in annoyance. He had been locked up for years and now that he had people to talk to he was being ignored, typical L. He huffed again and looked around him. The hotel had a wonderful view, and Beyond briefly considered going to take a peek at Japan, but decided against it. 

Ten minutes passed. Well, Naomi, you sure have a lot to say. He thought of L’s promise, or you're taking a lot of convincing. 

Beyond sunk lower in his seat. He was, to say the least, anxious for a distraction. Even the plane ride from L.A. had been more interesting than this. He had struck up a conversation with a neuropathologist who had sat to his left and the woman had proposed an interesting theory that had taken over three hours to disprove. Losing his patience, Beyond clicked his tongue and snapped his head up so that he was looking directly at the man whose real name was-

“Matsuda, how long have you known L?” 

The man's head jerked towards Beyond, but he was able to catch himself quick enough to not make eye contact. Hmm…

“Like personally, not through a computer screen?” No answer.the playfulness in Beyond’s tone was beginning to waver.

“Well, I've known him for almost a decade and I'll tell you, he doesn't get much better than this to be honest.” A huff came from the younger Yagami, but the Task Force ignored him.

These had got to have been the most boring police Task Force that Beyond had ever encountered, and that included the Ithaca police that he had worked with while solving a case there. Bastards didn't know that Beyond had been joking when he had said that the woman was more likely to kill herself than her stalker. Although, he had been right in the end, so he could understand their disdain. 

This, however, was completely unreasonable. He had not hurt these men, nor had he intended to, but now his feelings were throbbing. If he had been a more patient man, then perhaps he would have let it slide, but he wasn't. So he settled for the worst thing that he could do. 

“Hmm, perhaps my Japanese needs some work.” He said rather loudly in Cantonese, “perhaps I'll just talk to myself, no harm done. I'm just a lonely old man with no one to talk to.” He switched to Irish Gaelic, “oh woe,” Welsh Gaelic, “woe is me.” He saw, out of the corner of his eye, the Yagami boy shift his feet. His head was tilted again, and he moistened his lips before nodding very slightly. Well, Light Yagami, you certainly are an interesting person aren't you? I'll give it a thirty-eight percent chance that you're almost as crazy as me. 

“Aux, Champs-Elysées, badabadabadapa! Aux Champs-Elysées, badabadapa! Au soleil, sous la-”

“Beyond, please quiet down.” Came a feminine drawl from outside the now closed bedroom door, interrupting his gung ho rendition of the classic song.

He was vaguely alert to the glares that Naomi received from the other men in the room, but Beyond was busy searching Naomi's eyes for a sign of anything that suggested that he could be on the case. Aware of his desperate glance she walked calmly to her seat and tentatively nodded to him. He pumped his fist in the air as if he had just won a sports match and she narrowed her eyes.

Czech, “Sorry.” 

Light Yagami stood and approached the bedroom, pausing before pushing the door open and proceeding to enter. Beyond and Naomi both watched him with distrust, not unnoticed by the investigators, but the moment that Beyond turned to look at any of them they were suddenly fascinated with their shoes once more. 

Beyond was liking them less every minute. 

“Beyond, L- Ryuzaki will describe the conditions in more detail when he reappears, but he wants to make sure that you will be okay with one thing.” At this the criminal raised an eyebrow. What could possibly be important enough for L to think that he would need to think about it? Beyond had an inkling, but he hoped to God that L hadn’t had the same idea…

Ryuzaki. Dragon 

“He said that it is necessary for you to never wear any makeup during the investigation. When you aren't investigating you may,” she paused, waiting for him to meet her eyes, “but he requires you to look exactly like yourself.” Beyond stared at her in disbelief. What? It wasn't even that horrible a request, just ridiculous and humiliating. He didn't like the investigators, Light Yagami, or L, and now he got to display his scars to all of them. 

Wonderful. At least it wasn’t-

“Fine,” he said dismissively, returning to Japanese. “but I am not changing my appearance in any way then. No undercover work if I can't ‘wear makeup…’” 

Naomi gave him a weird look before responding. “You'll just have to tell him that when he’s done then.” Beyond nodded and rubbed the bottom of his heel against his other toes, cursing those tiny shoes. Naomi closed her eyes and Beyond tried desperately not to chuckle at the sight. Only Naomi would meditate at a time like this. 

A few tension packed moments later Ukita stood, resulting in what could have been described as chaos compared to the silence that had ensued beforehand. Mogi and Yagami jumped, Matsuda gasped and opened his mouth as if to say something, Beyond and Naomi glared at him for moving unexpectedly, Watari stepped forward, and Light Yagami appeared out of the bedroom, soon followed by L, who raised a thin eyebrow at the varied stances of the people who were sitting in what might as well have been his sitting room. 

Ukita flushed and made his way over to the bathroom. The rest of the investigators relaxed, but Naomi remained on high alert until Beyond had leaned back into his chair. He watched L cross the room behind Light Yagami, reassessing the genius. Oh L Lawliet. You have much time to live, I wonder if Kira will get to you first, or shall I? 

As the detective approached Beyond moistened his lips again, this time to appear nervous. Nervous, ridiculous…

“I have come to the conclusion that it is very unlikely that any of you are Kira. However I would like to make it quite clear that, while he will be working with us, Light Yagami is a suspect-”

“What?” 

“But L really…?”

“Are any of you suprised?” Light Yagami turned to glare at Beyond, and the criminal made sure to reward him with a toothy smile. Soichiro looked like he was about to faint, and Naomi was already holding him up with one hand, but, like the younger Yagami, she was looking at Beyond with a reproachful look. He shrugged and redirected his attention, pointedly looking the suspect over before continuing. “I mean, he's suspicious as f-” 

“Thank you, Beyond, now if you'll let me enlighten you of the requirements of your stay.” Beyond rolled his eyes under the scrutinizing gaze of L, but nodded. He needed to stay on this case, that he was sure of, and he needed to be cooperative, but not too cooperative, or L would start suspecting something. 

“The first condition you are already aware of, and is non negotiable, as I am sure miss Misora has made clear to you. That is that you may not disguise yourself. This includes makeup, sunglasses, wigs, contacts, anything that could be used to alter your visual identity. Is that clear?” Beyond nodded again, running his tongue over his teeth in annoyance. Don’t be repetitive, L, just tell me what I can’t do. 

“You will not break the law without my explicit permission and therefore only within my limits of doing so. You will remain as Miss Misora’s responsibility throughout the case and will not leave her side. This includes your sleeping arrangements which will be sorted out by us as I change hotels. It is likely that we will not be staying in the same places, however, so Watari will give you a list of reliable rooms. In addition to this you will only go where I give you permission to, and this does also affect Miss Misora,” He turned to face Naomi, “ My apologies.” 

“It's not a problem.” She responded, Beyond rolled his eyes and tried not to feel ganged up on. He was sensing that this would be an exceptionally inneffective arrangement for him; although, that was almost certainly the point. But as long as he saw L often it would be suitable. He had gone a long time without seeing anyone other than the same grubby inmates and guards, so Beyond was sure that he would survive a few days away from the man that he could hardly bring himself to look at. 

“Concerning your physical well being, you will eat and drink sufficiently and you will not harm anybody, including yourself. You will respect the other members of the task force and you will not withhold any information or use your intuition to your own advantage.” Beyond looked at L curiously, an involuntary smile hiding between the thin folds of his lips. How strange of the detective to refer to his supernatural eyes as ‘intuition’, and it begged the question, was L not going to tell the others his secret? It made sense, especially if Light Yagami was Kira, but L was building these people’s trust on a slippery slope if he was going to withhold information from them like this. 

Beyond batted his eyelashes before responding with a high-pitched “Alright Lawlipop…” and finally let his smirk show when the detective narrowed his eyes. Beyond looked up at him innocently. He hadn't done anything wrong, the nickname was fitting enough, even if L’s name was a secret. Nobody had to know that it was spelled differently than the candy. The older man sighed and looked at Naomi. 

“Will you be able to keep him in check?” Beyond had to withhold a scoff and his smile was quickly becoming forced. Of course Naomi could ‘keep him in check’. Beyond saw her nod out of the coroner of his eye. She had before, and he had been stronger then. 

“So, L…” The criminal clicked his tongue and crossed his legs, “when do I get fed?” The reactions of the other men was perfect, like musical instruments. Beyond knew exactly how the average investigator’s brain worked, and these men were barely different. 

“Do you really have the authority to speak to him that way?” It was the Chief, Mogi. Beyond cast him a deadly gaze, eyes narrow and lips turned up just enough as if to say, ‘or perhaps I’ll eat you’. But Beyond was angry. He wasn’t the suspect, Light Yagami was, so if anyone should be distrusted then it was him. Beyond took a deep breath. no, it makes sense, L had obviously told them that he was dangerous, that’s why they didn’t talk to him before, so it’s not strange that they were weary of him.

Beyond let the breath out and closed his eyes, opening them again only to wink at the large man before turning to L and saying, “I have no qualms with your conditions, but I have no legal way of acquiring food, so I’m afraid either you or Naomi will have to feed me, and it’s hardly fair for Naomi to have to do that. She is only my handler, not my mum.” He smiled mockingly at L, but was only met with “Watari will bring you something, after you use this room’s shower to get rid of anything that might be obstructing your appearance.”

He man’s face was blank, and his eyes were as large as ever, but Beyond could sense the playful curiosity behind the authoritative words. Beyond had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from omitting a sound that may have sounded similar to a growl. L was fucking with him, practically forcing him to reveal the extent of his ‘appearance’. Beyond was aware that it was a condition, but L didn't have to be so damn gleeful about the prospect...

Beyond stood and looked at L, his chin pointed slightly downward due to the height difference only noticeable by the older man’s slouch. He raised an eyebrow, “Alright then. Will Satsuki be joining me, or would you prefer to properly oversee my,” He paused, straightening his back to take whatever chance he had to at least attempt to feel bigger than L,“cleansing?” 

Playfulness gone. 

“I’m sure that you are capable of washing yourself properly.” The detective’s voice was flat, not even calculating, and the strained grin disappeared from Beyond’s face as quickly as it had arrived. He walked around the detective and directed himself in what he hoped was the right way to the bathroom. Sure enough, a thin wooden door opened up to a facility and the criminal stepped inside. 

……………

L watched the man disappear into the bathroom and, once the door was properly shut, returned his attention to to Task Force in front of him. Mr. Yagami still looked a little dazed, and Naomi was obviously dreading the future, but L thought that, all in all, the group of people looked sufficient for catching Kira, if Light Yagami wasn't Kira of course. 

Now, however, he needed to address Aisawa. 

“If you will all excuse me, I need to speak privately with one last person.” He bowed slightly before heading back to the bedroom. He saw the gaping mouths of the Task Force, and had to repress a thin smirk from spreading across his face. Calm down, men, please, he thought, it'll only take a minute. 

He pretended not to see the glowering eyes of Beyond peering at him from the barely open door, he must have opened it silently after its initial closing, only to disappear as the door shut once again and the bath started. 

He also pretended not to hear the growl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I really appreciate the feedback that I have received, but more is always appreciated. Next chapter is another L chapter and will cover the two meetings with Naomi and Light, as well as the short discussion with Aisawa. hope you enjoyed it!


	6. Whispers to Madmen/ L's conclusions pt. A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beyond struggles with some stuff and Naomi discusses Beyond and Kira with L.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologize for the wait but other things happened. I also apologize because this is mostly filler and is relatively short. Nonetheless, please enjoy.

_ “C’mon, Backup! Hurry or we’ll miss it…”  _

 

The voice was like a ghost’s, faint and echoey as if he were hearing it through an abandoned building, or a veil, or both. It was young, calling for him through the nearly muted pattern of the shower stream. How long had it been? Ten minutes? Twenty? 

 

_ “He’s really here isn’t he? Let’s go meet him, even if we won’t see him.” _

 

Beyond ran a hand over his face, the sick, demented leather that had replaced his chin and neck, his chest and upper arms. It didn’t look so different through the streams of water, but he knew that the moment he stepped out of the shower the unnatural ripples in his features would become apparent to anyone who was there to watch. 

 

Of course not, he was being ridiculous. They wouldn’t see more than his chin, at least while he wore the turtleneck. But he couldn’t wear it all the time. At least Naomi seemed to react negatively to the thought. Perhaps she’d leave him be, at least spare him her eyes. 

 

_ “Oh my GOD, B, come on!” _

 

His hands traveled down to his rumpled shoulders, their grip tightening to massage the thin muscles there. He rubbed the pads of his thumbs over his palms, realizing that the skin there had become wrinkled as well. 

 

_ “Alright.” _

 

The clink of the metal rings on the rack was muffled by his reply. 

 

_ “Alright.” _

 

He pulled the jeans up his, frankly disgustingly skinny, legs, not bothering with underwear, and inspected the top. The very last remains of concealer were visible around where his neck would eventually go.  _ Disgusting _ . Nonetheless he pulled the stretchy material over his head, noting how it seemed to make him appear thinner than he was, but it was soft, so it wasn’t completely evil. 

 

Not like him.

 

_ “Alright.” _

 

God he was so hungry. 

 

“Beyond?” 

 

Three knocks. Like pounds in his head. 

 

“Are you going to finish up in there? We do actually have things to go over.”

 

He turned his head slowly, his hands wringing the water out of his hair. There had been no shampoo, no conditioner. There had been, however, a small barely used bar of soap which he hadn’t dared touch. He had never been to that side of prison, but he was not ignorant, nor was he in any hurry to burn his insides out.

 

If there had been conditioner, however…

 

“Beyond!” 

 

“Alright.” 

 

He ran a trembling set of fingers through his dark blond tresses and wondered why he was so fearful. People had seen more of him then this. Snap out of Beyond. You may be crazy, but you were never a coward. Man up dammit!

 

He didn’t bother to take his shoes with him, and his socks remained neatly rolled into them as he pushed the door open a crack. It took a fraction of a second for him to internally curse the name Lawliet before the door was swung completely open. He kept his eyes trained on the hunched man before him, on how his eyes widened fractionally as they took in his chin, his neck and his… feet…? 

 

Glancing down Beyond could see the faintest evidence of the extent to his burns and suddenly he didn’t mind how on display he was. How his eyebags were now unmasked and fit to compare with L’s. How his chin and lower lip were blown and shaped to mimic a dying balloon. Only L and a select few would notice the marks on his ankles, and they were the ones to come to terms with the damage, not him. He already had. 

 

“Alright!” he repeated, a grin stretching the damaged skin, “Let’s get to work.” 

 

Earlier:

 

The door closed and L heard the handle click, cueing his sigh of relief. Naomi was next, and nothing had ever sounded so refreshing. 

 

The woman was one that he trusted, to put it plainly, and, though their conversation would undoubtedly revolve around Kira and Beyond, L was glad to be able to speak with her, if only to offer his condolences. There were going to be eight people who had seen his face by then, and two who knew his last name. 

 

Two and eight. Who would have guessed that single digits would have left the world’s greatest detective terrified…

 

His eyes snapped up to look at the woman who had slipped into the room. Though the lights were off, L could still see the tired creases under her eyes, the way she held herself proudly, but unsurely. He could see that something had kept her awake, be it nightmares, ideas, or both, and that, though she was rather thin, she demonstrated an energised elegance to each of her movements.  

 

Naomi Misora, we meet at last. 

 

“L.” She whispered, not taking her eyes off of him, the creases deepening as her eyes widened, be it with awe or disgust at his undeniably unkempt appearance. He returned the favor. 

 

“L, I had nothing to do with B-”

 

“I am aware of that.” Her shoulders rose slightly at the interruption, but returned to their relaxed, but alert, position in a matter of moments. More like a tensing of the muscles that had developed there over years of field work. 

 

“Naomi, I would like to talk about Kira for now. You said that you had information earlier. Tell me, what do you suspect?” She tensed again, but this time she didn’t relax right away. 

 

“I have suspicions regarding his powers, or at least his way of killing.” L noted how her voice was steady, but had a rough, edgey aftertaste, like she was unable to breathe. He saw the thin sheen of sweat that had appeared on the thin portion of her forehead that wasn’t covered in thick, dark hair and silently willed her to calm down.  

 

“I believe that Kira can kill in more ways than just heart attacks.” Her tone was growing stronger, but he could almost hear her requesting his affirmation. She paused and her eyes flitted around the room for a moment before resting on him again. 

 

“Go on.” He was aware of the bored tone to his voice, of the way his eyelids drooped down over the first half of his black orbs, and how his shoulders were slumped. He could see her resolve cracking. She should have known better than to try to be formal with him. He had to repress a smile at how desperate she was to maintain their cool and collected relationship, as they had through a computer network years ago, but L had always been sure of one thing. Naomi Misora’s weakness in uncertainty. She needs affirmation, and that is simply something that he could never give her. 

 

Where was the F.B.I. agent from before? Why are you so desperate to prove yourself, and why are you attempting to do so in this manner? 

 

“My Fiancé, Raye, died along with the other eleven F.B.I. agents.” L nodded in understanding. Of course she’d be delicate right now, even if she hardly showed it. “The thing is, eight days before then he was on that bus, the one going to Spaceland. He was there when the bus was hijacked.” L wracked his brain, trying to remember about the bus jacking, but he couldn’t recall the immediate details. “He said that he was forced to put himself in a position where he’d had to have shown his I.D. as an F.B.I. agent to someone.” L’s eyes, which had slowly dropped to examine his toes, snapped up to look her directly in the eyes. This was certainly the time when Kira saw his name, which meant that Kira must have used his ability to manipulate others to kill off the other F.B.I. agents. His eyes widened. So Kira must have been on that bus.  

 

“So you suspect that Kira was on that bus, no you know it. How does that support your statement that Kira is able to kill in other ways?” 

 

“Well, the hijacker was killed in a car crash directly after, and Raye said that he was forced to show his I.D. in order to convince others that he was not affiliated with the criminal. So I thought that it couldn’t have been a coincidence.” L’s eyes lowered again and he brought a thumb up to his mouth, biting down. Hard. This was definitely worth considering. 

 

“That is very intriguing, but you must understand that it is a very bold leap. Had I been in that situation I would have asked for I.D. before trusting anyone. What sticks out to me, and I agree with you on this, is that the hijacker was not killed directly after his name was televised, but that he was killed. I believe that you are correct in your assumption that Kira did kill him, and that therefore Kira can kill in other ways. You are certainly very capable and I am glad that you are to be a part of this taskforce.” As he spoke her face went from desperation, to pride, to gratefulness, and by the time he had stopped she was practically glowing with his praise. L couldn’t help but smile a little. Naomi Misora, I am glad that you came to me. 

 

“Now, as for Beyond.” Her face turned grave, suddenly tense. “I have a proposition for you.”

 

“I’m listening.” 

 

“I would like for you to be the one to watch over him.” L’s vision, that had been trained on her left eye, flicked to her right and back again as he watched for her reaction. He was not surprised to see her tense, but he was not expecting her to look so scared. 

 

“You're perfectly allowed to say no, it won't change much concerning your participation in the case. I only know that you're the only one who will be able to do it, you have before.” 

 

“It's not that I don't have confidence in myself, but are you really considering working with him? He’s going to try to kill you, he'll, he's going to try to kill all of us. Do you really want to work with someone like that?”  L was hardly listening, instead focused entirely on an itch that was blossoming on his left heel. He glanced at her when she stopped, but he still shifted before responding. 

 

“Do not forget that, other than Watari, and possibly you, Beyond is the only person who knows my identity, and is aware of how I operate. Despite the risks, I need people whom I can trust completely with this case, and at this moment Beyond is one of those few. He has presented his reasons for wanting to take out Kira, and his abilities will allow us to watch silently.” To his relief Naomi relaxed as he spoke, if only slightly. Perhaps he was getting through to her. 

 

“I understand. If you trust him then I suppose I do, although I can't help but be weary…” 

 

He smiled slightly, pleased at how easily she had swayed, “Of course, you should be weary. If you weren't then I wouldn't trust you with this.” L was silent after that, and Naomi didn't interrupt his silence. He could almost feel her eyes on him, causing him to resist the urge to squirm. He never preferred wiring with people, and definitely if they were going to watch him. It felt like lasers burning through his closed eyelids. 

 

Two minutes later, after Naomi had sat down on the other end of the mattress and examined every corner of the room, L opened his eyes and fixed them on her. 

 

“I have something that I need you to tell him.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I would love to know what you, as readers, think. again I'm sorry for the wait but my computer has been acting up. 
> 
> I also FINALLY figured out how to switch from plain text, so hopefully this will be slightly more to my intentions.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Death Note fic that I'm posting online, so please leave critical (but not rude; I know your mom taught you better than that) feedback. Other characters will present themselves in about the third chapter. I hope Beyond is not too out of character. Next update in a day or two perhaps. I hope you enjoyed it!


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